Live: Woman charged with hate crime murder in US subway death of Indian

Woman charged with hate crime murder in New York subway death of Indian

A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since September 11 and thought he was one was charged on Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said.

Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion.

Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens district attorney Richard A Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney.

Menendez, who was arrested after a tip by a passer-by who saw her on a street and thought she looked like the woman in a surveillance video released by police, admitted shoving Sen, who was pushed from behind, authorities said.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office.

Sen was from India, but police said it was unclear if he was Muslim, Hindu or of some other faith. The 46-year-old lived in Queens and ran a printing shop. He was shoved from an elevated platform on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens. Witnesses said a muttering woman rose from her seat on a platform bench and pushed him on the tracks as a train entered the station and then ran off.

Two people lost their lives in Barabanki, one each in Gonda, Deoria, Ballia, Banda, and Hamirpur districts.

According to Met office, maximum temperature continued to be below normal by 6 to 11 degrees Celsius in parts of the state.

The lowest minimum temperature in the state was 0.7 degree Celsius at Lucknow airport.

Sources forecast that weather would be mainly dry with foggy conditions in eastern UP.

4.13 pm:

Over 30 youths held in Bhopal for eve-teasing

As many as 36 youths were detained from various parts of the city for allegedly indulging in eve-teasing, police said today.

The youths were held from the New Market area, 10 number bus stop, Manisha Market among others last evening when they were caught passing lewd comments at women.

Acting on tip-offs, police reached the specific spots and nabbed the youths, some of whom are reportedly wards of senior government officials.

Those held were made to do sit-ups in public and were then detained briefly at police station before being let off after warning, said Bhopal Superintendent of Police Rajesh Bhadoria.

3.30 pm:

BJP, Congress lock horns over Special Session of Parliament

Amid the nationwide protest over the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday reiterated its demand to convene a Special Session of Parliament and amend the laws so that the harshest punishment is given to those accused of the heinous crime.

Lashing out at the Congress-led UPA Government, BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged that the Centre has failed to address the people's outrage after the horrific incident that took place on December 16.

A man and his son were arrested for allegedly raping his teenaged daughter in Dombivili township of Thane district in Maharashtra, police said today.

According to the complaint filed by the 19-year-old victim, she was repeatedly raped by her father - Mahesh Prasad (50) for the last two years and for the last two months, her 20-year-old brother - Hardik - had also sexually abused her, Dombivili-Ramnagar police said.

As many as 19 people, including four women, were killed and 25 injured Sunday when a militant rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of three buses carrying Shia pilgrims in Pakistan's Balochistan province, Geo News reported.

The incident took place in Mastung district when the buses were taking pilgrims from the province's Taftan town to Quetta city. All the pilgrims were from Multan city and on their way to Iran via Quetta.

Jammu and its surrounding areas are covered with thick fog since Saturday night.

12.30 pm:

Teenager molested in bus in Delhi, conductor arrested

A teenaged girl was molested allegedly by a conductor in a bus here late last night, close on the heels of the brutal gangrape of a young woman.

The incident took place in Mandi House in central Delhi at around 11 pm yesterday and the victim is a 16-year-old girl.

"The girl had boarded cluster orange bus. When it reached near Mandi House around 11 pm, she was molested by the conductor of another bus who was travelling in the same vehicle," a senior police official said.

At least 17 people have died in Pakistan after consuming toxic cough syrup, with two deaths reported from Punjab province's Gujranwala district Saturday, Geo News reported.

As many as 21 people who had excessively consumed the alleged toxic cough syrup and drugs were brought to hospital from different areas. At least 17 of these people died, said a senior official at the Gujranwala district headquarter hospital.

11.25 am:

Police pushed for early cremation of gang-rape victim

Delhi Police "forced" the family of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim to cremate her body before sunrise after she was flown here from Singapore early Sunday, a local BJP leader alleged.

"The family members refused to cremate the body before sunrise. But they where forced by the police to do the cremation. The family where forced to do the last rites before sunrise," Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Vijender Gupta, who participated in the last rites, told IANS.

Amid lawyers refusing to represent the accused in the gangrape-cum-murder case of 23-year-old paramedic, two women judges have come out with suggestions for effective fast-tracking of the trial.

While Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, a sitting Supreme Court judge, suggested amendments to the Evidence Act to avoid recording of evidence at multiple stages to "cut-short" the whole process of trial, former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Usha Mehra opined that the trial judge should ensure service of lawyers to accused from the very outset of the trial.

The 14-year-old girl's condition is critical and she has been put on ventilator, they said.

According to police, the minor was kidnapped in a car from Dholka town in the district and raped by two persons on December 6, following which her family members registered FIR on December 14.

"The girl had been complaining to her father of acute stomach pain for the past two days. Unable to bear it any longer, she mixed pesticide with water and drank it early morning today. She was immediately taken to a private hospital in the village before being brought to V S Hospital in city," Dholka police inspector B D Thakkar told reporters in Ahmedabad.

He said the girl has been put on ventilator and kept in the Trauma Centre. "Her condition is critical because she is physically very weak," Thakkar said.

Meanwhile, a search is on to trace the accused duo who are on the run since the incident, the officer said, adding information has been passed on to police stations in the neighbouring villages about them.

8.15 am:

College girl raped by classmate in Indore

A college girl has alleged that her friend, a classmate, raped her.

Ravi Verma (20), the accused, was remanded in police custody by the Magistrate's court here yesterday.

Khajrana police station in-charge Dilraj Singh Baghel said that the girl was friendly with Verma for the last one and half years.

According to her, Verma raped her on December 26. He also shot a video clip of her, threatening to circulate it if she went to the police.

7.50 am

Brave gang-rape victim cremated

Amid outpouring of anger and grief in the country, the body of the 23-year-old gangrape victim was flown here from Singapore early this morning and cremated within hours.

The mortal remains were flown to the capital in a Special Aircraft of Air India and after landing at IGI airport, the plane was taken to its technical area where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were present to receive the body.

Both Singh and Gandhi spoke to the family members and consoled them.

The body was then taken to Mahavir Enclave residence where the girl lived and religious rituals were performed before taking it to the crematorium at Dwarka Sector 24 amid heavy deployment of Delhi Police and RAF personnel.

The Broadcast Editors' Association has asked news channels to refrain from covering the Delhi gang-rape victim's funeral, so that the privacy of the bereaved family is respected in their moment of grief.

The Association, which has ABP news editor Shazi Zaman as its chairman and editors of several prominent national TV news channels as its members, has issued detailed guidelines to ensure that the privacy of the victim's family is respected.

In its guidelines, the Editors' body has asked news channels not to show any visuals of the funeral or even shots of the deceased's home or family. Channels have been asked to not air interviews with any relative.

The BEA has said information about arrival of body and funeral can be provided, but the location of the funeral should not be made public. It also asked channels not to show shots of arrival of the body and not to chase the funeral van.

The body will be arriving in India sometime around 3 am.

When reached for his comment, BEA General Secretary N K Singh confirmed that news channels had been advised not to cover the funeral.

"In view of the need to protect the identity, dignity and privacy of the deceased and her family, the BEA has asked the channels not to cover the funeral and not to show any visuals of the funeral," Singh said.

The girl, who was gang-raped by six men in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16, breathed her last in a Singapore hospital early this morning